This year seems geared up to be a promising one for video-game-based movies. Ratchet and Clank looks to be like a fun adventure, Warcraft has the potential to be quite epic, and Assassin's Creed is filled to the brim with possibilities. But Warcraft will be the subject for today seeing as how a new trailer has been released. So, does it offer anything new, or does it diminish the anticipation?
The trailer opens with a few swooping shots of the humans' kingdom. These shots are very colorful and gorgeous to behold. We hear a few lines from the humans and the orcs about how peace is over and war is coming. They mention an invasion and then we get a look at a green orc camp. The plot details are rather vague as of now, apart from the fact that the brown orcs and the humans must work together, but it is looking like the green orcs will be the antagonists of the story. That being the case, I am interested to see how the green and brown orcs differ from each other and why this war has started. We can speculate that the green orcs do not like the humans simply because they are humans (I really hope it turns out to be a more complex relationship than this) but what would cause them to have differences with the brown ones? We shall have to wait and see.
The trailer continues to give us more of the plot with some more dialogue. We get a reference to "the enemy" followed with a few shots of the green orcs, further cementing the idea that they are the bad guys for this story (not that that is a major revelation or anything). We get some very cool visuals, such as the orcs running through the snow and some use of magic, all of which look great. The film has a very sleek and vibrant appearance, and the armor and costumes look like they were ripped straight out of the game. It is easy to tell that the film is CGI heavy, but if the right tone is captured, then this could work in favor of the picture.
And then the trailer takes a very strange turn. A different song begins playing and it just does not work. Was that dub-step? What is this type of music doing in a fantasy trailer? It sticks out it the worst of ways and enhances nothing in terms of what the film is striving to get across. Early on, Warcraft was described as a mixture of Lord of the Rings and Braveheart; this music contradicts that. Anyway, back to what we see, the trailer delivers some more great imagery and brings up that the brown orcs and the humans must work together to survive. The conflict and reluctant alliance between the two species should be the driving force of the film and so I hope it is given appropriate attention. A story like this can easily be one-note and cliché.
We are then introduced to a new character, a female green orc, who seems to be on the humans' side. She is seen killing other green orcs so why she turns against her own race is an interesting angle to explore. I gives me hope that this will not be told as a black-and-white story; that the color/race of the character determines their allegiance automatically. Perhaps there are some green orcs that do not wish to invade or kill others. I hear she is supposed to be half human and that is where the conflict comes in, and there is potential in that plot line. After a few more action sequences, we are introduced to a new race; the dwarves. I do not believe we see the dwarves in action in the trailer, but they look pretty good, even if one of them is nearly identical to Gimli from Lord of the Rings. However, their inclusion in the film has me worried. I think the focus should be these two would-be enemies joining forces against a common threat; survival out of necessity. I obviously want it to be more complicated than that, but by throwing the dwarves into the mix, it seems a tad overstuffed. Where do they fit in? What is their role in this world? I could absolutely be dead-wrong about this, but I think the dwarves might cripple the film's story.
The trailer then feeds us with even more action shots, and they all look good for the most part. But amongst all of the action sequences in this trailer (and there are PLENTY), something really sticks out. The leader of the brown orcs, Durotan, looks and sounds incredible. He seems to be quite relatable right from the trailers, but that is not what sticks out. What sticks out are his fighting scenes. The physical combat he has is incredibly satisfying. He looks like a legitimate powerhouse and you can feel the weight of his punches. That scene where he is beating up the other orc is my take-away from the trailer. And the roar that follows his ballistic barrage is plain awesome.
If I were to sum up this trailer in five words, it would be these; striking visuals, poor song choice. This film, though very CGI reliant, looks very good with a wide array of color compositions that bring this world to life. The orcs, though obviously fake, are very detailed and will hopefully feel real in the picture. The song is downright mismatched. It does not communicate the proper tone for this film. I am familiar with the Warcraft game franchise, but I have not really had much experience with it. I know quite a bit about the world (or at least I used to) but not nearly enough to make in-depth presumptions about what will specifically happen in the film that directly relates to Azeroth. I am however looking forward to Warcraft, seeing as how we have not had a great straight-up fantasy film since The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. This film could easily turn out to be a lot like Gods of Egypt, but let us hope for the best.
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